On Thursday, May 6, at 5:00 PM, as part of “Ilia’s Thursdays,” a public event organized by the Caucasus University’s International Research Center for Georgian Studies will be held with Professor Oliver Reisner of Ilia State University, along with the public presentation of the book: “The School of the Georgian Nation: The Society for the Spreading of Literacy and the National Project in the 19th Century.”

The meeting and book presentation will take place at the Caucasus University book store.

The book is dedicated to the formation of the Georgian national movement in the 19th century and shows how the nation was formed not only at the level of ideas, but also through social practices, education, and cultural institutions. At the center of the study is the Society for the Spreading of Literacy among Georgians, as one of the key organizations that played an important role in shaping national consciousness.

In the presentation, the author discusses how Georgian intellectuals understood “Europe” as a normative and cultural ideal, and how they sought to selectively and adaptively implement this ideal within an imperial and autocratic environment. Special attention is given to the processes through which the national idea was formed in everyday social practice.

The presentation will last 40 minutes and will include a detailed discussion of the book’s structure, sources, and research methods, followed by a discussion.

Short Biography:

Oliver Reisner is a historian and researcher of the Caucasus, and a professor at Ilia State University.

His research interests include the history of nationalism and nation-building, the history of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, and issues of Georgian social and intellectual history.

Reisner’s work pays particular attention to the processes through which national identity is formed in social practices, institutions, and cultural networks.

He is the author of numerous international publications and actively participates in academic and public discussions in Georgia and the Caucasus region.

Duration: 40–45 minutes.

Participants are required to register via the provided link.